Ankle sprain, how do I know if it's serious or to just get on with my life?

[Homeymum2]

It's been a week - still some swelling and bruising but I can walk on it (slowly and not normally)

I had an x ray it's not broken but no other imaging of the area to look at the ligaments etc

I basically stayed off it and kept it elevated the first 3 days and I'm doing ice intermittently - day 4 I had an unrelated appointment and managed 5,000 steps (to the GP and back) day 5 rested it
Day 6 and 7 went out to pre planned events and did 7,000 steps each day.

It doesn't seem particularly worse for the walking that I did - but also not any better-

Today I'm at home alternating 10 minutes of chores that require me to stand and 20 minutes of chores that I can do seated.

It hurts - I'm weary - I don't know if I'm doing the right things - and I just want to have a clean house and go to the shops and live my life normally

Is it strapped up?

I bought a wrap from the pharmacy, but the pharmacist said I should wait for the swelling to go down

Gentle exercise is fine. When resting draw letters and numbers in the air with your toes to gently flex the foot. Anti inflammatories can help as can arnica gel to draw out the bruising. If it stiffens up you may need some physio,

Thank you

Unfortunately sprains can take many weeks to settle. After a week, when you have walked on it quite a lot, it's no surprise that it is still swollen. Nothing you can do other than RICE - rest, ice, compress, elevate and wait. A bit of walking about won't do it any harm. You might consider getting some physio too.

It can take longer to heal than a broken bone.

I had a series of sprained ankles in my 20s (both sides because of avoiding putting weight on the bad one...) I was advised to avoid high impact exercise like jogging and aerobics. Cycling and swimming and similar were good. Walking also good, but not running. I also had exercises I could do at my desk, basically doing figures of 8 and writing the alphabet with each foot as I sat there, and also some work with a resistance band.

Decades on, I still get pain in my ankles if I get really tired and do more walking thst I used to, but I can run (a bit.) And dance.

I also got compression bandage ankle things (available in any chemist,) and would take them on holiday in case of problems- as I'm likely to be doing more walking on holiday.

Most of the advice I had was from 20+ years ago, but I would recommend asking a physio if you can, and don't rush it.

I don't know how to judge what is a lot of walking and if I'm doing too much. And if I need to wait longer to do the walking I would normally do as part of my day -

I don't have a car, I like to walk a lot, I go on long walks for pleasure - I'm obviously not doing that now.

I'm used to getting between 10-15,000 steps a day and 20-30,000 on a "walking" day when I go for a wander

the walking I've done this week is just the bare minimum I can do unless I stay home (to the local surgery, to the bus stop, and bus to work- sitting down at work) most places I go are less than 1/2 a mile and I can't get a bus there ...